It is hard to believe that almost 4 months have gone by since I last wrote anything down. I was just telling a friend earlier today that living here in Key West is like a perpetual Groundhogs Day with local scallywags as the main character instead of Bill Murray. Things are very slow paced here yet it is a bustling city. The island is about 4 by 6 miles and filled with roughly 27,000 main residents. The tourists add much more than that each day. I enjoy that my life consists of 6 blocks either way to get to the grocery, my favorite bar, some great food, and an awesome beach. This is certainly un-like any other place I have ever been or lived. Rules almost don't exist here. Ben and I have affixed beer koozie holders to our bikes so we can stroll through town with a nice cold one. People of all kinds are excepted here and judgement gets thrown out the window.
My job is a very rewarding and sometimes challenging job. Most of the time it is one that I continually am thankful for. I did get a case of "rock fever" recently where I absolutely needed to get off of the island or else I was going to snap. Ben whisked me away to Del Ray Beach Florida where I found us a nice little guesthouse one block from the beach and it just happened to coincide with our 4 year wedding anniversary. What a perfect trip!
Recently I am feeling like I need to remember not to forget who I am however. I do not want to become someone who gets so enveloped in their job that they forget who they are and what they love. So recently I contacted the ceramics club at the community college to see if outsiders can join. I would love to get my hands on some clay and get my creativity flowing outside of the house. I spend a lot of my time fixing up the spa, watering plants for the spa, doing laundry for the spa, and keeping my kitchen very clean. Our kitchen doubles as a break area for my massage therapists during business hours. I don't want them to have to sit amongst all of our nonsense. Ben and I recently bought ourselves two brand new stand up paddle boards. They are the first large expense we bought ourselves purely for fun! This purchase made me very happy and getting out on the water is always a great time and awesome exercise. I also sew a few things here and there and am proud of the outcome. This however still leaves me in my house. So it is my goal soon to find something to do outside of the home that is relatively inexpensive and that will feed my desire to learn, expand, and have time away.
Sparky, our smart and amazing puppy, is doing wonderfully as a Key West dog. He swims as often as possible and we even think that one day he will be a surfing dog. His stand up paddle boarding technique is top notch.
Over all, life is wonderful here. I really am so thankful for these blessings. I just want to keep reaching and keep dreaming for what could be next. I do want this to last for quite some time though. I am in no rush to change this scenery.
My biggest worry, and everyones worry is the oil spill. This must be contained and capped soon or too many innocent marine animals, Eco systems, and people are going to be ruined. It is utterly disgusting that this has happened and the response to this disaster has been irresponsible. Almost day 70 and each second I can only picture what is dying out in our beautiful ocean.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Oh How I Wonder...
I last wrote while searching into the deep unknown of my young present tense. We left a wonderful home we made for ourselves in California and moved east towards North Carolina. There was so much to look forward to there. Our hope was that it would become a place to make our dreams come true. We looked forward to being able to see our families more often, saving money, and building a life there. It had given us many things but nothing like we expected. I have learned in my 25 years that trying to plan anything in your life is just a joke. There is a master plan and all you can do is follow it.
After 9 months of scraping by and feeling less than myself, we had to change something. Ben had began a successful wildlife management business which was rewarding most of the time for him. He was able to spend most of his days working for himself while still maintaining sanity by offering kayak tours for our local tour shop on the island. I was stuck trying to make a decent wage by being a waitress, nannying and other menial jobs where no one takes you seriously. I had tried to pursue my massage therapy in NC but was underwhelmed by the lack of wellness minded people and overwhelmed by all of the money and luxurious lifestyles that surrounded me. We all of the sudden felt like we were being pushed to fit a mold of young adult married couples. Our church was like an Abercrombie and Fitch magazine where even our Pastor had a great tan and good hair. (He was a great preacher though). In any case, we were living in caucasian, Bible belt land. It became clear to us that Wilmington and Carolina Beach were not making us happy. The culturally inclined west coast was still lingering in our minds and we had begun contemplating moving back to Humboldt County. It was a scary thought. I didn't want to back track. Yet so many people were giving us the run around and I couldn't stand it anymore. I believe I hit an ultimate low when I found myself interviewing for a job in the army town of Fayetteville NC for a nannying position with a family who would have hired me without even asking me questions. This was an hour away from my home and I would have had to do overnights at these strangers house. I left the "interview" feeling as big as a grain of salt. I felt hopeless and misled. At the same time of this interview I had my resume submitted to a job in Key West Florida. The job was listed as running a small wellness spa where housing was included as well as profit sharing. At this point I had made it to the second round of interviews. My hopes were high yet felt unattainable and hard to believe being my current circumstances. Ben had edited every email I wrote to the owners of this spa. I really put my heart into it. After not hearing from them for a couple weeks I felt an urge of confidence and decided to call them so they could hear my voice and match it with my resume. I was able to talk to one of the owners but it was a short lived conversation and I hung help feeling more nervous then I was before I dialed. Oh well, I drove on and went to pick up my friend Tina from the airport since she was visiting. Time went on and on for what seemed like months when really it was a couple weeks and I heard back from them. They wanted to do a video interview! I was thrilled. I spent all night before hand making notes and researching their website. The interview came and there I was, interviewing for my dream job.
My now present employers offered me to come down to Key West and meet them. They weren't going to interview anyone else until they met me face to face. I spent 3 days there and on the last night they offered me the job. Tears of joy ran down my face and I looked over at Ben and he was also welling up with tears. This was a life changing opportunity! In January we officially became residents of Key West FL and now we are living here in wonderment about all of our possibilities. I love my job and feel full of life every day. We have made friends and have found fun places to go and spend time together. We have little markets and wild roosters running around. Everyday I make sure to see the water. It is an absolute gift to see the ocean every day and smell salty air. Our sailboat is in the water and we are making a go of learning the art of sailing. Someday we can buy a larger boat and live on it. Yes, it is attainable here and where we never thought we could be...we are. It's funny how God's plan is far greater than what you could think up. The gifts of confidence and perseverance are two that I am so thankful I have. If it weren't for my up-bringing, my husband, and my faith, I don't know if I would be here in this place.
Tomorrow we are meeting some friends to take our boat out. March 1st, 70 degrees and sunny with a chance of an awesome time.
After 9 months of scraping by and feeling less than myself, we had to change something. Ben had began a successful wildlife management business which was rewarding most of the time for him. He was able to spend most of his days working for himself while still maintaining sanity by offering kayak tours for our local tour shop on the island. I was stuck trying to make a decent wage by being a waitress, nannying and other menial jobs where no one takes you seriously. I had tried to pursue my massage therapy in NC but was underwhelmed by the lack of wellness minded people and overwhelmed by all of the money and luxurious lifestyles that surrounded me. We all of the sudden felt like we were being pushed to fit a mold of young adult married couples. Our church was like an Abercrombie and Fitch magazine where even our Pastor had a great tan and good hair. (He was a great preacher though). In any case, we were living in caucasian, Bible belt land. It became clear to us that Wilmington and Carolina Beach were not making us happy. The culturally inclined west coast was still lingering in our minds and we had begun contemplating moving back to Humboldt County. It was a scary thought. I didn't want to back track. Yet so many people were giving us the run around and I couldn't stand it anymore. I believe I hit an ultimate low when I found myself interviewing for a job in the army town of Fayetteville NC for a nannying position with a family who would have hired me without even asking me questions. This was an hour away from my home and I would have had to do overnights at these strangers house. I left the "interview" feeling as big as a grain of salt. I felt hopeless and misled. At the same time of this interview I had my resume submitted to a job in Key West Florida. The job was listed as running a small wellness spa where housing was included as well as profit sharing. At this point I had made it to the second round of interviews. My hopes were high yet felt unattainable and hard to believe being my current circumstances. Ben had edited every email I wrote to the owners of this spa. I really put my heart into it. After not hearing from them for a couple weeks I felt an urge of confidence and decided to call them so they could hear my voice and match it with my resume. I was able to talk to one of the owners but it was a short lived conversation and I hung help feeling more nervous then I was before I dialed. Oh well, I drove on and went to pick up my friend Tina from the airport since she was visiting. Time went on and on for what seemed like months when really it was a couple weeks and I heard back from them. They wanted to do a video interview! I was thrilled. I spent all night before hand making notes and researching their website. The interview came and there I was, interviewing for my dream job.
My now present employers offered me to come down to Key West and meet them. They weren't going to interview anyone else until they met me face to face. I spent 3 days there and on the last night they offered me the job. Tears of joy ran down my face and I looked over at Ben and he was also welling up with tears. This was a life changing opportunity! In January we officially became residents of Key West FL and now we are living here in wonderment about all of our possibilities. I love my job and feel full of life every day. We have made friends and have found fun places to go and spend time together. We have little markets and wild roosters running around. Everyday I make sure to see the water. It is an absolute gift to see the ocean every day and smell salty air. Our sailboat is in the water and we are making a go of learning the art of sailing. Someday we can buy a larger boat and live on it. Yes, it is attainable here and where we never thought we could be...we are. It's funny how God's plan is far greater than what you could think up. The gifts of confidence and perseverance are two that I am so thankful I have. If it weren't for my up-bringing, my husband, and my faith, I don't know if I would be here in this place.
Tomorrow we are meeting some friends to take our boat out. March 1st, 70 degrees and sunny with a chance of an awesome time.
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